Rainy Days in Astoria (Oregon)

Columbia River from the Astoria Column (Gold 200 film, Kodak Retina IIa camera, 1/250 ƒ/8 - click to see more detail)

Astoria is a historic sea and trading port on the Oregon shore at the mouth of the Columbia River. It is a wet city because weather patterns from the North Pacific thunder in most of the winter (and often in the summer). 

The mighty Columbia is the largest volume river to enter the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. The average flow at the mouth (meaning near Astoria) is about 265,000 cubic feet/second. As an example of scale, the Mississippi River during the flood of 2011 had a flow in excess of 2 million cu ft/sec, while a large tidal inlet on the Gulf of Mexico coast (Destin, Florida) has a discharge of about 100,000 cu ft/sec. From Astoria, the estuary looks immense.

Dusk on the Columbia (Moto G5 phone file)

Freighters at anchor, Columbia River, Astoria (Gold 200 film)

Great blue heron, Columbia River (Gold 200 film, 1/50 ƒ/4)

Yes, the river dominates everything. 

Riverwalk, Astoria (1/50 ƒ/4)

The Riverwalk extends along the entire waterfront. It is a nice walk or bike ride, but a bit damp in the rain. Many of the tourist restaurants are situated on the wharf or in warehouses.

On the Riverwalk (the door is fake)

Chow time, fish and chips, Astoria Brewing Company (Moto G5 phone photo)

What do you do after a wet day walking the docks? Well, eat fish 'n chips and drink craft beer at the Astoria Brewing Company. These were some of the best fish 'n chips I have ever eaten. 

Room with a view, Astoria (Moto G5 phone file)

Road with a view (Moto G5 phone file)

Astoria has plenty of hotels and even some old-fashioned motor courts. We stayed in the heart of the city, within walking distance of coffee shops, a bakery, and restaurants.

West Marine Drive, Astoria

Kick Ass Koffee - what could be better than that?

Former cannery east of Astoria

Wouldn't you know it? The day we left, the weather cleared. So it goes. I would love to explore the old cannery, but the pier was tightly secured. At one time, thousands of workers packed fish at this and other canneries.

Most of these photographs are from Kodak Gold 200 film, taken with my Kodak Retina IIa camera with its Retina-Xenon 50mm ƒ/2 lens. This is a fully coated 6-element Gauss-type lens. I had just bought this little camera and was very pleased with its performance. 

In the Olympic Peninsula (Washington)

Olympic Peninsula, Washington (courtesy ontheworldmap.com)

The Olympic Peninsula is a fabulous terrain of mountains, temperate rain forest, lakes, and lonely beaches. The Olympic Mountains dominate the core of the peninsula. In a previous life, I hiked in the Olympics, climbed Mount Olympus, and camped along the rugged Pacific shore. I revisited in early 2022 but only had time for casual day trips. 

Rain forest near Lake Quinault

First of all is the incredible rain forest. It overwhelms with giant trees, moss, ferns, and lushness. These lush forests are among the limited remaining primeval temperate rain forest in the lower 48 states. Rainfall ranges from 140 to 167 inches per year (in contrast, Vicksburg, Mississippi, receives around 57 inches and Athens, Greece, receives only 14.9 inches). We saw the unusual American dipper in one of these ponds. This little bird bobs up and down and walks along the bottom of ponds. 

Kestner-Higley Homestead, Lake Quinault, Olympic Peninsula (Gold 200 film, Kodak Retina IIa camera, 50mm ƒ/2 Xenon lens)

Chevrolet truck, Kestner-Higley Homestead

Chevrolet truck

Chevrolet truck taken on Fuji Acros film, Leica M2, 35mm ƒ/2 Summicron lens 

The Kestner-Higley Homestead is at the northeast corner of Lake Quinault. The short circle trail is an easy and fun walk.

Pottery studio, Hoquiam (Gold 200 film, 1/100 ƒ/8)

This little 1930s grocery store is now a pottery studio. It is on East Hoquiam Road seemingly a long way from any towns.

Lincoln Street Grocery, Hoquiam (Gold 200 film, 1/100 ƒ/8)

Heading south on US 101, you reach Hoquiam. This former lumber town is on the north shore of Greys Harbor. The town is a bit rough and will offer some interesting photo subjects in the future.

Seat with a view, 121 Park Avenue, Aberdeen (Gold 200 film, 1/100 ƒ/5.6½)

Wishkah River at junction with Chehalis River, Aberdeen (1/100 ƒ/5.6)

Aberdeen is more than a bit rough. I need to return and look around for more photo opportunities. The city is at the mouth of the Chehalis River where it debouches into Greys Harbor. The city thrived as a lumber port during the early 20th century because Greys Harbor was ice-free. The lumber could be shipped south along the Pacific coast to markets in California and Asia. But most of the mills closed in the 1970s and 1980s, and the town went through rough times. 

We ate at Duffy's Restaurant and had excellent smelts. Smelts are little salt water fish that are usually fried. In a previous life, the famous Durgin Park Restaurant in Boston served smelts. But once they dropped smelts (and mackerel!) from the menu, I knew the end was coming. 

This ends our all-to-short tour of the Olympics. Most of the photographs are from Kodak Gold 200 film that I exposed in my little Kodak Retina IIa camera. I scanned the film with a Plustek 7600i film scanner.

Exploring the Capitol (Olympia, Washington) (Oly 02)

Washington State (from netstate)

Olympia and Capitol Lake (Hasselblad XPan camera, 45mm lens, Fuji Reala film)

Olympia is the capitol of Washington State. The city is nicely situated at the south end of Puget Sound about one hour southwest of Seattle (or 2 or more hours during rush hours - which last much of the day). Olympia is a nice little city with a population of about 55,000, but that increases to around 270,000 if you include nearby Lacy and Tumwater. Olympia was only incorporated as a town in 1859, making it a relatively new city compared to where I have lived in the past. 

4th Avenue, view east

The downtown is reasonably well-preserved and active. But it did not strike me as especially dynamic despite being the state capitol. It definitely has a less frenetic pace than Seattle or Tacoma. In the business district, most buildings appear to have tenants, and I saw bars, restaurants, banks, coffee shops, and theaters. Some of the downtown has the look of Old American City, a place that may have enjoyed a more golden era decades ago. 

Railroad bridge over Capitol Lake (35mm ƒ/2 Summicron lens) 

The rail network through the city is a bit complicated. This bridge crosses Capitol Lake (see the aerial panorama above).

7th Avenue Tunnel from Columbia St. SW (50mm Summicron, ƒ/4.0½)

After the rail line crosses Capitol Lake, it turns north and then turns east through the 7th Avenue Tunnel. I met a homeless man emerging from the dark and he said people regularly walk through it (hmmm, not me). A few years ago, a homeless fellow was struck by a train and lost an arm.

7th Avenue Tunnel from Jefferson Street (90mm ƒ/4 Elmar lens, 1/125 ƒ/4.0½)

7th Avenue (50mm Summicron lens)

 It took some looking around to find urban decay topics, but I found some.

When I asked the homeless fellow where the railroad tunnel emerged, he said near the black house. I did not know what he was talking about until I saw this old house coated with black paint. (Update: the house has burnt down.)

Jefferson Street view north (90mm ƒ/4 Elmar lens, 1/125 ƒ/5.6)

The tracks run down Jefferson Street to the Port of Olympia. I thought they were unused until one evening, I heard the familiar clanging and horn of a locomotive. 

Lumber pier, Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area (90mm Elmar, 1/250 ƒ/8.0)

The Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area is northeast of downtown. The pier once served Weyerhaeuser Timber Company's rail cars bringing lumber from the south. Formerly known as the South Bay Log Dump, cranes loaded timber onto barges, which then took the wood to mills in Everett. Today, the pier supports colonies of yuma myotis and little brown myotis bats. They forage as far as Capitol Lake and eat tons of insects every night. 

No coffee today, 3525 Shinckle Road

This ends our short tour of Olympia. Type "Olympia" in the search box to see older articles.

The black and white photographs are from Fuji Acros film exposed at EI=80 in my Leica M2 camera. Northeast Photographic in Bath, Maine developed the film, and I scanned it with a Plustek 7600i film scanner. The aerial panorama is from 2004, when I spent a few months in Seattle on a work project at Willapa Bay. A friend flew me over Olympia and to the coast.

Jayden's German Store (Small Towns in Washington 02)

Pacific County and Willapa Bay. 

Driving west on Washington State Route 6, you eventually reach the environs of Willapa Bay. This is one of the largest estuaries on the North Pacific coast. For over a century, it was famed for its oyster harvest. The town of South Bend is on a bend of the Willapa River and serves as the county seat of Pacific County. During some business trips in the early 2000s, my coworkers and I passed through South Bend. It looked pretty rough back then.  

In March of 2022, South Bend looked much better. We wanted to lunch somewhere and were surprised to see signs for Jayden's German Store? What, a German deli in South Bend? We could hear the Brätwurst calling us ("Come eat me...").

Jaden's store is right on the main road. Find a place to park and shop for souvenirs, chocolate, mustard, and cookies. Pick up a few hot brats for lunch. We learned that the owner formerly cut hair and then decided to open the store and sell items from the old country.

Hand-made signs. Folk art at its best. I love places like this.

No more coastal coffee (Gold 200 film, Kodak Retina IIa camera, 50mm ƒ/2 Xenon lens)

Unfortunately, Coastal Coffee in its cheerful little blue house was no more.

The Pacific County Courthouse is an unusually ornate structure in immaculate condition. We met the city clerk, and she graciously opened the building and showed us around. 

Standby for more southwest Washington in the future.

Most of these photographs are from a Moto G5 mobile phone except for the frame of the cheerful little blue coffee shack.

The Menlo Post Office (Small Towns in Washington 01)

Menlo Post Office (Kodak Gold 200 film, Retina IIa camera, 50mm ƒ/2 Xenon lens)

Menlo is an unincorporated community in the Willapa Valley of Pacific County, Washington. It is on WA state route 6, which takes you to the Pacific coast from I-5 in central west Washington near Chehalis. Interesting note: the 56-mile Willapa Hills State Park Trail follows Rte 6 on the former Northern Pacific Railroad line. What an incredible ride. 

"Reach for the batter-whipped bread" (Gold 200 film)

We wanted a drink and looked in the Post Office/store. This proved to be an interesting place. I always love to visit small stores like this.

Have a seat, a soda, and some petrol

The store/Post Office had an impressive collection of snapshots of generations of high school graduates,  babies, and miscellaneous townsfolk. This must be the town archive. The post mistress said the original store burned in the 1920s, This was the "new" store - from 1924.  

The first two photographs are from my new/old 1950s Kodak Retina IIa camera on Gold 200 film. It has the right vibe for this type of subject matter, and the optical quality is excellent.

1950s Optical Excellence: Kodak Retina IIa Camera

Kodak Retina IIa, made in West Germany from 1951-1954

Background

The Kodak Retina was a highly-respected camera in the 1950s and 1960s. I never used one, but several friends said the lenses and output were excellent. So, in one of my occasional GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) episodes, I started looking on the infamous eBay (now known as ePrey). Amazingly, some bargains in film equipment are still to be found there, but you need to be patient and look at the descriptions carefully. In early March (2022) this handsome little Retina model IIa (Type 016) came from a US vendor for all of $37, including shipping. It also included a medium yellow filter and a case. $37? How is this possible?

Retina Cameras

The most famous Retinas were folding cameras. This means the lens would pivot or fold into the body to make the unit more portable. You click a button to release the front door, and it swings open and shifts the lens into position. Before WWII and through the 1950s, folders were popular because they were compact. Medium format models tended to have problems with lens alignment, but 35mm models were smaller and more rigid. Zeiss Ikon, Agfa, Voigtländer, Certo, and other companies made various models. The finest may have been Voigtländer's Vito III with its superb 50mm Ultron lens, one of the best 50s of the mid-20th century. But Kodak sold the largest number of folders.

By the mid-1950s, solid body cameras became the dominant design because the lens could be mounted more precisely and remain aligned over time. 

Kodak made these superb little Retina cameras at their Nagel-werke subsidiary in Stuttgart, Germany. For reasons that I never understood, the mighty Eastman Kodak Company was unable to successfully make higher-end 35mm cameras in the USA. They made millions of snapshooter-level cameras for casual photographers, and their large-format lenses were well-respected, but precision 35mm cameras for enthusiasts eluded them. 

Dr. August Nagel himself designed the original Retina in 1934. It held Kodak's 35mm metal film cassette, the same format that we still use today. Various Retinas of increasing sophistication followed for the next 35 years. 

The models are confusing, and a Wikipedia article and retinarescue.com list the varieties of the post-war models in more detail than I can:

1. I series. 1945-1960. Viewfinder folding cameras with ƒ/3.5 to ƒ/2 lenses.
2. II series. 1946-1958. Nagel-werke added a rangefinder to improve focussing. My IIa is in this group and has a superb 50mm ƒ/2 Schneider Xenon lens.
3. III series. 1954-1960. The most sophisticated models with both a selenium light meter and rangefinder. Most of the selenium meters have failed by now.
   • The IIIc models allowed the front optical group to be exchanged with 35mm and 80mm groups. It was clumsy but worked. 
   • The IIIC (large C) models had an improved viewfinder and also accepted the interchangeable front lens elements. 
4. S series. Rigid bodies, 1958-1966. The IIIS used interchangeable lenses with the DKL (or Deckel) mount. They needed the S series lenses with a focus cam for the rangefinder. Beautiful cameras but very complicated internally
5. Retina Reflex. 1957-1967. Totally different leaf shutter bodies. The Type 025 could use the same lens elements as the IIIc series above, while the later Reflex S used the DKL lenses. These did not successfully compete with Japanese reflex cameras in the 1960s. When working, they were excellent optically.
6. Retinette series. These were lower cost with Reomar triplet lenses. Some of there bodies were almost identical to Retina bodies. 

Retina IIa with front panel closed. The lens and shutter are protected.

Coated Schneider-Kreuznach 50mm ƒ/2 Xenon lens (6 elements), approx. 1952-1953. Filter size: 29.5mm

Shutter with range 1 sec to 1/500 sec. The distance scale is in feet for the US market.

Film guide and spools - all precision machining

My IIa has a 6-element Schneider Xenon lens, a unit focus 6-element design. Unit focus means the entire lens moves forward and back as you focus. This lens is coated, as indicated by the blue tinge and the red arrow on the label. I assume this was a post-war computation, but the early-1950s would have been before the designers used computers for lens design. Rodenstock also supplied lenses for Retinas, usually the models sold in Europe. Notice the precision labels, metalwork, and mounting of the shutter and focus scale.

The filter size is 29.5 mm screw-in. Genuine German Kodak filters are thin enough to remain mounted when the lid is closed. Why do the most modern 50mm Über-lenses for mirrorless cameras need 67 mm or even larger filters? 

More Information

You can find many reviews of Retinas on the web. They are popular with their current owners. I am surprised I do not see them in use. Of course, one rarely sees film cameras at all in use, but someone is buying them as well as film. 

Cameraquest states that the IIa is his favorite model.

Photography & Vintage Cameras also prefers the IIa to other Retina models. 

My friend, Jim Grey, loved his IIa but then let it go, which he now regrets (he will probably buy another one...). He also demonstrated the excellent optics of a IIc model. 

Mike Eckman dot com wrote a detailed review of the IIa and a summary of the Kodak company's association with its German subsidiary. He has reviewed other Retina models, as well.

Chris Sherlock in New Zealand is the reigning expert.

Photo Thinking also loves the IIa.

Random Camera wrote a good review of all German folders, with emphasis on the Retinas. He liked the IIa, too.

Photojottings described the superb and sophisticated Retina IIIC, the one with auxiliary lenses.

All My Cameras liked the II (Type 014), the predecessor to my IIa. 

Is this Retina camera any good?

Well, that is the big question, of course. How is it optically? Here are some Kodak Gold 200 photographs from a recent trip to the Pacific Northwest. Click a frame to see 1600 pixels on the long dimension. You can judge for yourself, and I welcome comments, criticisms, insults, anything.

Olympia, Washington

Port of Olympia (next to the Dancing Goats® Coffee Tasting Room!) 

Swantown Marina, Port of Olympia

Thurston County Food Bank, 220 Thurston Ave., NE, Olympia

The Food Bank serves hundreds in need in the Olympia area with food and other essentials. 

Frog Pond Grocery in the historic South Capitol area (1/250 ƒ/5.6)

Olympia is a nice little city at the south end of Puget Sound. You will see more Olympia photographs in the future. 

Southwest Washington

Driving through rural Washington, interesting photo topics popped up and said, "Photograph me."

I am in the Danger Zone, Rte. 101, Skokomish (1/250 f/8)

Fixer-upper hotel, 311 Main Street, Pe Ell, Washington (1/250 ƒ/11)

Room with a view, Park Avenue, Aberdeen (the building really is curved; 1/100 ƒ/5.6½)

Aberdeen has a wealth of delicious grunginess. It is on my return list.

Astoria, Oregon

Great blue heron, Columbia River, Astoria, Oregon

Former US Mail railroad car, Astoria, Oregon

Summary

This little Kodak Retina is a jewel of 1950s Germany precision manufacturing and optical excellence. I certainly can't complain about the lens resolution or body rigidity. Imagine the skill of the technicians who assembled these cameras on workbenches. 

On mine, the rangefinder was cloudy and a bit out of alignment. I sent it to Paul Barden in Corvallis, Oregon, for a thorough cleaning and adjustment. After seven decades, I need a cleaning and adjustment, too! Mr. Barden said the camera was in good condition, and minor fungus in the rear group cleaned off without etching the coating. The rangefinder is rather squinty and is not as brilliant or defined as one in a Leica M, but what do you expect?

The leather case was seriously stinky, but I washed it and re-glued the lining to the outer shell. It works well, although normally I am not a user of camera cases. I also fixed four "Zeiss bumps", bumps where rivets under the leather build up a blob of tarnish.

These Retinas are still somewhat inexpensive on the 'Bay. When will they become the next trendy in-thing for film photographers? Buy before the prices go up, and enjoy.

Update July 2022: The cleaned and overhauled the IIa is home. Now I need to make time to use it. Here are photographs of Houston, Texas, in November of 2022.